Sequim  ( listen) is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. The 2010 census counted a population of 6,606. Sequim with the surrounding area has a population of about 28,000. Sequim is located along the Dungeness River near the base of the Olympic Mountains. The population served by the Sequim School District population was over 26,000 in 2018. The city has been increasing in population in recent years due to the influx of retirees seeking good weather and a relaxed lifestyle.
Sequim lies within the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains and receives on average less than 16 inches (410 mm) of rain per yearâ€"about the same as Los Angeles, Californiaâ€"and has given itself the nickname of Sunny Sequim. Yet the city is fairly close to some of the wettest temperate rainforests of the contiguous United States. This climate anomaly is sometimes called the blue hole of Sequim. Fogs and cool breezes from the Juan de Fuca Strait make Sequim's environment more humid than would be expected from the low average annual precipitation. Some places have surprisingly luxuriant forests dominated by Douglas-fir and western red cedar. Black cottonwood, red alder, bigleaf maple, Pacific madrone, lodgepole pine, and Garry oak can also be large. Historically, much of the area was an open oak-studded prairie supported by somewhat excessively drained gravelly sandy loam soil, though agriculture and development of the Dungeness valley have changed this ecosystem. Most soils under Sequim have been placed in a series that is named after the city. This "Sequim series" is one of the few Mollisols in western Washington and its high base saturation, a characteristic of the Mollisol order, is attributed to the minimal leaching of bases caused by low annual rainfall.
The city and the surrounding area are particularly known for the commercial cultivation of lavender, supported by the unique climate. It makes Sequim the "Lavender Capital of North America", rivaled only in France. The area is also known for its Dungeness crab.
Sequim is pronounced as one syllable, with the e elided: "skwim". The name evolved from the Klallam language.
Media
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The local news publications consist of the community newspaper Sequim Gazette and the Peninsula Daily News. The Sequim radio station is KSQM, FM 91.5.
Sister city
Sequim's sister city is Shiso, HyÅgo, Japan. Sequim and Shiso have an exchange student program set up through Sequim High School and Sequim Middle School.
History
Aboriginal inhabitants
Fossils discovered in the late 1970s at a dig near Sequim - by Carl Gustafson, an archaeologist at Washington State University - known as the Manis Mastodon Site included a mastodon bone with an embedded bone point, evidencing the presence of hunters in the area about 14,000 years ago. According to Michael R. Waters, an archaeologist at Texas A&M University, this is the first hunting weapon found that dates to the pre-Clovis period.
The S'Klallam tribe had inhabited the region prior to the arrival of the first Europeans. S'Klallam means "the strong people". The band of S'Klallam Indians disbanded into their own individual federally recognized tribes in the early 1900s. The local tribe is the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe, named after one of their early leaders, Lord James Balch. According to other tales, the town Sequim in S'Klallam means "a place for going to shoot", which represents the abundance of game and wildlife of the area.
First European settlers
Manuel Quimper and George Vancouver explored the region's coast in the 1790s. The first European settlers arrived in the Dungeness Valley in the 1850s, settling nearby Dungeness, Washington. While the lands along the river became fertile farmlands, the remainder of the area remained arid prairie, known as "the desert". Irrigation canals first brought water to the prairie in the 1890s, allowing the expansion of farmlands.
Incorporation
Sequim was officially incorporated on October 31, 1913. For many decades small farms, mostly dairy farms, dotted the area around the small town. Near the end of World War I, Sequim became a stop for a railway that passed through from Port Angeles to Port Townsend, built primarily to carry wood products from the forests of the western Olympic Peninsula.
Commemoration
Sequim has held its Irrigation Festival every May since 1895. As of 2018, it is the longest continually running festival in the state and is in its 123rd year.
Tourist attractions
- Sequim is home to a herd of Roosevelt elk, one attraction to the area. The herd occasionally crosses US 101 just to the southeast of the town. Radio collars on some members of the herd trigger warning lights for motorists.
- Over the past two decades, Sequim has become famous for growing lavender and holds the annual Sequim Lavender Weekend (always the third weekend in July).
- The Museum and Arts Center features both natural and cultural exhibits, including a mastodon mural mounted with the remaining mastodon bones, artifacts, and a video on the excavation.
- The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is located just north of the city, near the mouth of the Dungeness River. It includes Dungeness Spit and a five-mile (8 km) hike to the New Dungeness Lighthouse at the end of the spit.
- To the east along Highway 101 is Sequim Bay, a 4-mile (6.5 km) long inlet from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Along the western stretch is the Sequim Bay State Park. The inlet is a popular birdwatching area.
- To the west off Highway 101 along the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a replica of George Washington's home, the George Washington Inn.
Geography
Sequim is located at 48°4′41″N 123°6′5″W (48.078002, -123.101427).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.37 square miles (16.50Â km2), of which 6.31 square miles (16.34Â km2) is land and 0.06 square miles (0.16Â km2) is water.
Climate
Sequim experiences a mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), sometimes classified as an oceanic climate owing to the relatively cool temperatures. Despite its low rainfall, extreme summer temperatures are marginally more moderate than nearby extremely wet towns like Forks, owing to the coastal fog. Winters are mostly mild with very little snowfall. Many years there is no snow at all. The highest temperature recorded in Sequim was 99 °F (37.2 °C) on 16 July 1941, and the lowest âˆ'3 °F (âˆ'19.4 °C) on 19 January 1935.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 6,606 people, 3,340 households, and 1,626 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,046.9 inhabitants per square mile (404.2/km2). There were 3,767 housing units at an average density of 597.0 per square mile (230.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.3% White, 0.4% African American, 1.2% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.7% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 4.8% of the population.
[Note: The U.S. Postal Service delivers to 28,000+ people within Sequim's zip code, 98382. Most of these postal patrons live outside the Sequim city limits in Clallam County.]
There were 3,340 households of which 17.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.5% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 51.3% were non-families. 45.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.87 and the average family size was 2.57.
The median age in the city was 57.9 years. 15.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.1% were from 45 to 64; and 40.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.4% male and 55.6% female.
2000 census
More detailed information from the 2000 census indicated that the racial makeup of the city was 93.91% White, 0.30% African American, 1.15% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.86% of the population.
There were 2,163 households out of which 15.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.6% were non-families. 44.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 30.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.90 and the average family size was 2.55.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 15.3% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 15.2% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 44.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 59 years. For every 100 females there were 73.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,880, and the median income for a family was $35,652. Males had a median income of $35,160 versus $20,347 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,253. About 9.8% of families and 13.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The Sequim School District is home of the following schools:
- Sequim High School
- Sequim Middle School
- Sequim Community School
- Olympic Peninsula Academy
- Helen Haller Elementary
- Greywolf Elementary
Notable people
Musical groups
- Emblem3, musical group
References
External links
- Official website
- North Olympic Library System
- Sequim School District